(CNSNews.com) - The crisis within the world's 77 million-strong Anglican (Episcopalian) Church over homosexuality goes beyond an issue of human sexuality, to the far deeper questions of the authority of scripture and eternal salvation, a leading conservative bishop has warned.
As such, it is a make-or-break issue, and more serious than previous doctrinal disputes within the denomination, he said.
How the church deals with the crisis will show Christians' willingness to obey biblical teachings "despite the unpopularity which this may bring in the world and in the church," Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen told a conference in New Zealand.
"I seriously believe that we have before us a struggle for the soul of the Anglican Church," he said, acknowledging that those who shared his point of view were labeled "obsessed, fanatical, homophobic, negative, fundamentalist and puritan."
Differences in the worldwide Anglican Church (Anglican Communion) over homosexuality widened into a gulf after the 2.3 million-member Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) in 2003 ordained an openly homosexual priest as bishop of New Hampshire.
The fracture deepened with a decision by some Anglican churches in Canada to bless same-sex "marriages."
Broadly speaking, the split has divided increasingly liberal Western Anglican churches from its counterparts in the developing world and their more orthodox views.
Strong evangelical and traditional opposition to the liberal trend is present in most Western countries, however, and Jensen is a leading figure in that camp.
Addressing a gathering of evangelical Anglicans, he said the same-sex relationship issue was a non-negotiable one, in a different category than others that had triggered debates within Anglicanism, such as infant baptism or the ordination of women priests.
"There is very considerable group of people who say that this is the point where we must take a stand. If we are not prepared to stand here, we will stand nowhere," he argued.
"The biblical teaching [on homosexuality] makes this a matter of spiritual life and death," Jensen said, adding that this was made clear in texts in both the Old and New Testaments.
"I say with all solemnity to those who say the blessing of same-sex unions is okay, and who will ordain clergy living in same-sex unions: How can you do this when the souls of those involved are in peril?"
Jensen said the Bible made it clear that "those who are in them [homosexual relationships] are excluded from the kingdom of heaven."
'Not unbiblical'
The blunt warning stands in contrast to the opinion voiced by one of the most senior leaders in the Church of England, the Anglican Communion's "mother church."
The outgoing Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries, said last week that same-sex unions were not contrary to scripture, but were in fact in keeping with "the deepest biblical truths, about faithfulness and stability."
Although Harries retired on his 70th birthday Friday, the views he expressed are not rare in the Church of England, where groups such as Inclusive Church network, Inclusive Communion, Changing Attitudes, and an Anglican caucus in the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement are challenging what liberals regard as outdated positions and incorrect interpretations of scripture.
Some dioceses, on the other hand, withheld financial contributions after the church appointed a homosexual priest as dean of an important cathedral north of London, following a bid - initiated by Harries - to ordain the cleric as a bishop ran into opposition from a minority of bishops.
The divide was further underlined when the British government late last year legalized marriage-like same-sex civil partnerships. Church of England bishops issued a statement responding to the introduction of the law, but stopped short of condemning the unions outright.
The bishops effectively said clergy could enter into same-sex relationships as long as they were not sexually active, while lay members of the church could enter such unions without being celibate if they did not feel bound by the church's teaching.
The statement drew strong reaction from conservatives.
"We believe that it would be better for you to advise all Christians, whether lay or ordained, not to enter civil partnerships, rather than entering them under restricted conditions," a conservative evangelical Anglican group said in a letter to the bishops.
"We look to you as leaders of our church strongly to discourage Christians from registering civil partnerships, and to exercise appropriate discipline with regard to the clergy," it said.
Anglican churches in Africa and Asia, where the majority of the world's Anglicans live, have spearheaded opposition to the liberalizing drift. Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, the most outspoken of the leaders, cut ties with ECUSA in 2003 over the New Hampshire episode.
The Anglican Communion has instituted a protracted process aimed at resolving the crisis. A report issued in 2004 called on churches responsible for disunity to express regret for their actions, but the rift was not healed.
The report also recommended the establishment of an Anglican Covenant committing all member churches to consult the Communion before taking decisions. A task force is being appointed to work on the proposal.
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